L'Argent 1983

     This film is based on a short story The Forged Coupon by Leo Tolstoy.  A young French teen asks his father for his monthly allowance.  His father gives him the money but the teen asks for more because he owes a debt to another student at school.  His father says no and his mother also says no.  He decides to try to pawn his watch to a friend.  This friend gives him a forged 500-franc note.  The teens go to a photo shop and use the note to buy a picture frame.  The clerk takes the note and later the co-manager sees the note is forged.  She’s not happy because this is the third forged note in two weeks.  The clerk passes off all the forged notes for the payment of the heating gas delivery bill for the shop.  Yvon uses the notes to pay a restaurant bill but he is arrested.  The photo shop clerk lies about seeing Yvon in the shop.  Yvon avoids going to jail but he is fired from his job.  Because he has a wife and daughter, he needs money to support them and he agrees to be a bank robbery get-away driver.  He’s caught, sent to trial and sent to prison for three years.

     This is a strong story about an innocent person down the line of a crime imprisoned, losing his family and ending up with nothing.  The teen boys don’t think about any consequences of passing the forged money.  The clerk thinks it’s fine to lie about giving the bill to Yvon.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

85 min, Crime directed by Robert Bresson with Christian Patey, Sylvie Van den Elsen, Michel Briguet, Beatrice Tabourin, Didier Baussy, Bruno Lapeyre.

Note:  Imdb 7.5 out of 10, 96% critic 82% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 3.9* out of 5* with 27 reviews, Slant Magazine 4*, Metacritic 95 out of 100 with 6 critics.

Special Note:  This film won the Director’s Prize for Robert Bresson at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival and tied with Andrei Tarkovsky for Nostalgia.  Also nominated for Best Sound at the Cesar Awards 1984.  Won the 1984 National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Director.  The last film by Robert Bresson and included among the 1001 Movies you must see Before you Die.  The French Minister of Culture Jack Lang personally intervened to get this movie filmed because his daughter Caroline has a role.